Böcker av Lesley Riddoch

Why won't Scots simmer down?Why batter on about independence when folk voted No a decade back?After all. Scotland's not as populated as Yorkshire, nor as wealthy as London. But it's also not as Conservative, as keen on Brexit, or as willing to flog public assets to Tory party pals. So does Nicola Sturgeon's departure terminally damage the case for independence?The answer, with all respect to her legacy, is no. Scotland has bigger fish to fry. In this book, Lesley Riddoch makes an impassioned call to action, weaving academic evidence with story, international comparison and anecdote to explain why Scotland is ready to step forward as the world's newest state. We need optimism. And contagious stories of inspiration. Told out loud. In the open. Repeatedly. So, folk can engage emotionally, dare to dream of better - and go get it. Scotland is a social democracy stuck in a Conservative state that's preoccupied with its own lost imperial status. And stuck, Scotland cannae thrive. Let's cast aside preconceptions. Whichever way you voted in 2014 - if you did - the world, Europe, the UK, Ireland and our Nordic neighbours have all changed. Scots need the freedom to change too - the freedom to flourish.

So stands Scotland where it did? Not on your nelly.The professional classes in Scotland may be busy with Commissions, vows, deals, submissions and General Election planning but the wider Yes Movement is busy with huge spontaneous meetings involving hundreds, even thousands of people - gatherings like birds flocking before winter or starlings swooping to throw shapes into darkening skies. Because they can.Wee White Blossom is a post-indyref, poppadom-sized version of Blossom for folk who've already sampled the full bhuna. It updates Blossom with a new chapter on Scotland's Year of Living Dangerously. Lesley Riddoch shares her thoughts on the Smith Commission, the departure of Gordon Brown, the return of Alex Salmond and the latest developments in land reform and local control. She considers the future of the SNP, the Radical Independence Campaign, Common Weal, Women for Independence and Scottish Labour in the aftermath of the referendum. This is a plain-speaking, incisive call to restore equality and control to local communities and let Scotland flourish.Wee White Blossom is the ideal companion volume to Blossom, whether you want an update on the first edition or an appetiser before delving into the pages of the original.The most influential, passionate and constructive book to appear during the referendum campaign. Blossom seized readers because it argued for independence as means to an end - restoring control over their own lives to Scottish communities so disempowered by top-down authority that they had no real experience of democracy.NEAL ASCHERSONA brilliant, moving, well written, informative, important and valuable piece of work.ELAINE C SMITHNot so much an intervention in the independence debate as a heartfelt manifesto for a better democracy.ESTHER BREITENBACH, Scotsman

A topical, comparative study of the economic, social and political development of Norway and Scotland since 1800How did the development of two small countries at the north of Europe, whose histories were joined from about the year 795 AD including a 300-year alliance nevertheless diverge sharply in the modern era?This edited collection of essays covers various elements of this analysis including land ownership, politics, agriculture, industry, money and banking, local government, education, religion, access and the outdoor life, as well as several more synthetic chapters. Written as it is by historians, political scientists, economists, sociologists, anthropologists and human geographers, the book moves beyond historical narrative, and outlines elements of a theory of divergent development between Norway and Scotland over the long term, and so towards a novel history which will be of interest to a wider audience. Key Features:Focus on key periods of intensive relationships between Scotland and NorwayNew analysis of the differences between the two countries after the medieval periodClear information and analysis of how Norway changed after independence from DenmarkPolicy ideas on 'independence' issues such as natural resources and land rightsExclusive essays from established and new scholars